Preliminary studies are underway regarding the possible construction of an airpark on the north side of Peoria, Arizona.
Center of the airpark would be an anticipated new general aviation airport that could cost as much as $150 million to build.
The project has been long discussed as a means for continued economic development and employment growth in a city that has seen its population nearly double in the last two decades to its current 191,000.
According to a study put together by the Tempe-based Rounds Consulting Group the proposed airpark, once completely built out, could spur an annual regional economic impact of around $1 billion.
Published reports have indicated that the project, referenced as the Peoria Airpark, will ultimately see the construction of some 1.5 million square feet of industrial space, along with another 900,000 square feet of office space.
Retail space at the site would comprise around 400,000 square feet.
According to city documents, the Peoria Airpark has been envisioned as a marriage between a general aviation airport operating within the borders of an industrial and commercial park.
As proposed, the Airpark would not be built to include a commercial airport, nor would it be able to facilitate large commercial and cargo operations. An admitted model for the project is the Scottsdale Airpark, some 25 miles to the southeast, which measures around 2,900 acres and has 17 million square feet of facility space.
Now that the Rounds Consulting Group study has been completed and presented to the Peoria City Council, the next step in the process will see the completion of a site selection study.
That study will be tasked with evaluating multiple location options in the vicinity, before putting together a recommended site.
Peoria has been thinking about building an airport for well over two decades, an idea that through the year has attracted varying levels of support from the public.
Some residents have said that they think the project as proposed may prove too large and intrusive. A petition on the site Change.org has thus far received more than 1,000 signatures from those opposed to the idea.
By Garry Boulard
